Lu Wuxie looked at the woman staring intently at him and slowly uttered two words: "Ge Meng."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li suddenly let out a soft laugh. She reached into her怀 and produced two jade pendants, one male and one female. "I ask you, the moment you saw this jade pendant in my hand, did you know who I was, and who my godfather was?"
Lu Wuxie nodded.
"So, from the very beginning, your approaching me, lying to me, was all a conspiracy?" Zhong Li asked.
"Yes," Lu Wuxie admitted with his eyes closed. He feared seeing the despair on the woman's face, and also feared the look of mistrust in her eyes when she looked at him.
"Who killed my godfather?" Zhong Li asked again.
"Although I have a suspect in mind, Li'er... you are from the Dali Temple. You know that one cannot speak carelessly without evidence," Lu Wuxie replied.
"Alright, I understand." Zhong Li finished her questions, took Lu Wuxie's hand, and placed the half of the jade pendant she had received from him into his palm. "If I'm not mistaken, the inscription on this jade was carved by your mother, wasn't it?"
Lu Wuxie frowned, a sense of unease growing in his heart.
"Your poison has also been resolved. This item returns to its rightful owner. We are now completely unrelated." Having said this, she turned and walked towards the carriage waiting nearby without looking back.
Lu Wuxie stood frozen, watching the carriage swiftly pass before him.
"Master," Lin Jin emerged from the side, looking at his master with a hint of concern. "Perhaps Miss Zhong is just throwing a childish tantrum. Why don't you go and placate her..."
"She is not that kind of person," Lu Wuxie interrupted Lin Jin. "She is not Hua Yao; she is Zhong Li. It was precisely her clear distinction between love and hate that I liked, and her boldness in loving and hating with abandon. Now... I must bear the consequences of this affection."
"Master..." Lin Jin hesitated, wanting to say more.
Lu Wuxie took a deep breath and looked at his carriage in the distance. "Let's go."
Lin Jin nodded and followed him.
After a considerable pause, he asked, "Is Master prepared to give up on Miss Zhong with this attitude?"
Lu Wuxie slipped the half jade pendant in his hand into his pocket before looking up at Lin Jin opposite him. "Lin Jin, I, this Heir Apparent, merely made a few affectionate remarks as a woman's sentiment. But as for giving up... who told you that? Who did you hear it from?"
"Ah? Then what does Master mean..."
"Once I've set my mind on something, there's no such thing as giving up. Moreover, since I've already stirred things up, I must take responsibility to the end," Lu Wuxie said, then flicked his robe and entered the carriage.
Lin Jin was momentarily stunned. Upon realizing, he smiled and flicked his horsewhip.
The Wenchang Street at night was bustling, with no curfew in place, and the crowds were dense.
Hua Yao, arm in arm with Zhong Li, wandered through the night market. She seemed to rarely come out, and for a moment, she appeared fascinated by every stall and vendor lining the street. In no time, Zhong Li's hands were already full of various strange trinkets.
"Delicious!" Hua Yao took a bite of the malt candy in her hand and also offered some to Zhong Li.
"I don't like overly sweet things..."
"Eating sweets makes one happy. Are you sure you don't want any, Li'er?" Before Zhong Li could finish her refusal, Hua Yao had already popped a piece of malt candy into her mouth.
Zhong Li sighed inwardly and could only reluctantly eat it.
"Are you feeling any better now?" Hua Yao asked, pulling Zhong Li into a restaurant with a copper pot for shabu-shabu.
Zhong Li nodded, gave Hua Yao a smile, and followed her straight to a private room on the second floor.
Hua Yao unceremoniously began ordering dishes, busying herself with pouring tea, and said heartily, "Don't be shy, I'm treating today."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li looked at Hua Yao and asked, "What, did the Dali Temple finally pay out salaries?"
"The meager salary from the Dali Temple, how could it possibly satisfy my extravagance," Hua Yao said, resting her chin on her hand. "I saw you were in a bad mood and wanted to cheer you up. After all, whenever I'm in a bad mood, eating something I like makes me feel much better."
Zhong Li adjusted her dipping sauce and smiled at Hua Yao. "With which eye did you see that I was in a bad mood?"
Hua Yao playfully made a circular motion around her eye with her finger. "When your smile doesn't reach your eyes, anyone can tell. And you still ask me with which eye?"
Zhong Li curved her lips, not responding, and simply buried her head in eating the food in front of her.
"By the way, did you and the Heir Apparent have a falling out?" Hua Yao asked cautiously, looking at the silent Zhong Li.
Zhong Li's eating paused. After a long while, she asked the waiter for a pot of clear wine, took a sip, and said, "He and I are no longer connected. Please don't mention him again in the future."
"You... you really..." Hua Yao felt that saying the last two words might not be appropriate and made a gesture with her hands spread open.
"We have different ways of thinking, so we can't be together," Zhong Li said.
"Li'er," Hua Yao said, looking at Zhong Li who was calmly eating in front of her, her tone carrying a hint of regret. "To be honest, I think you and the Heir Apparent were quite well-matched. You are calm and reserved, while he is a bit more mischievous. You complement each other, and your feelings would only grow stronger living together. Who knew..."
Zhong Li picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Hua Yao's bowl, signaling her to eat quickly.
Hua Yao popped the meat into her mouth and still asked with a hint of persistence, "Did your rift with him happen when you delivered medicine to the Qingliang Hall that time? What exactly did you hear?"
Zhong Li pursed her lips and continued eating what was in front of her.
Seeing this, Hua Yao knew the other person didn't want to talk about it, and she couldn't force it. With a sigh, she could only eat the meat in her bowl to occupy her idle mouth.
After a while, she was full. She put down her wooden chopsticks and looked out at the scenery.
"Li'er, actually, I'm also a pitiable person, just like you."
Hearing this, Zhong Li looked up at Hua Yao.
"You're finally looking at me?" Hua Yao smiled back at her.
"What's pitiable about you?" Zhong Li asked.
Hua Yao continued to gaze out at the street view. "Xuan Qingzi is dead, and Lord Lan has been busy cleaning up the mess of the Shennü Cult. There are still remnants in Jincheng to be apprehended. I've looked for him several times, but I haven't even seen a shadow of him."
"When Lan Heng gets busy, he does indeed become elusive. The matter of the Shennü Cult will be resolved soon. He has a day off in a few days, so you can ask him to go out to the outskirts of the city." Zhong Li said.
"I hope so. Lately, he seems to be avoiding me. I don't know... Ah..."
Hua Yao's words were cut short as she suddenly let out a scream and leaped from her stool as if startled like a frightened cat.
Zhong Li was also startled and looked at her questioningly.
"Li'er... look... look... there's a ghost... no... someone... someone..." Hua Yao said, pointing with her finger to the opposite side.
Zhong Li followed Hua Yao's direction and looked across.
Opposite the small eatery where they were situated was the Huamanlou building in Jincheng. On the third-floor carved balustrade stood a woman.
Red clothes, red shoes, red lips, even the fingernails were red. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, and as a gentle breeze passed, her hair danced wildly. If one didn't look closely, she would seem no different from the ghost Hua Yao had mentioned.
"This is bad, she's going to jump!" Zhong Li saw her melancholic expression and her resolute demeanor, her heart jolted, and she quickly ran downstairs.